Continental Portugal ( pt, Portugal continental, ) or mainland Portugal comprises the bulk of the Portuguese Republic, namely that part on the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, def ...

and so in Continental Europe, having approximately 95% of the total population and 96.6% of the country's land. Mainland Portugal is therefore commonly called by residents of the Portuguese archipelagos of the

Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

and

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

the continent ( pt, o continente) in all respects including minor elements of combined governance from Lisbon, the country's capital. Before 1975, when the Portuguese territory also stretched to several now-independent states in Africa, the designation ''metropolis'' ( pt, metrópole) was also used.

Context

The designation ''mainland Portugal'' is used to differentiate the

continent A continent is any of several large landmasses. Generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, up to seven geographical regions are commonly regarded as continents. Ordered from largest in area to smallest, these seven ...

al territory of Portugal from its insular territory. The latter comprises the archipelagos of

and

in the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

. The Azores and Madeira are also commonly referred to as the autonomous regions ( pt, as regiões autónomas), insular Portugal ( pt, Portugal Insular) or, simply, the islands ( pt, as ilhas). Continental Portugal is divided into 18 districts. Outside of these the islands of

and the

are the Autonomous Regions of Portugal. The European Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics defines the geographic plurality of the mainland Portugal and the islands as the primary NUTS I territorial division (see administrative divisions of Portugal: NUTS for details). While in modern Portugal the difference between European continental and total territory is minor (in terms of area), it mattered during the existence of the

Portuguese Empire The Portuguese Empire ( pt, Império Português), also known as the Portuguese Overseas (''Ultramar Português'') or the Portuguese Colonial Empire (''Império Colonial Português''), was composed of the overseas colonies, factories, and the ...

, when the distinction was more frequently made, such as in the colonisation of Brazil. Continental Portugal has an area of or 96.6% of the Portuguese national territory () and 9,855,909 inhabitants (or 95.3% of the total population of 10,343,066).

Districts

EU Statistical Regions (NUTS II)

{, class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto;" , - ! style="width:200px; text-align:centre", NUTS II ! style="width:450px; text-align:centre", Districts (entirely or partly included) , - , style="text-align:left" , Norte

Alto Minho The Comunidade Intermunicipal do Alto Minho () is an administrative division in northern Portugal. It is situated between the Minho River and Lima River. It was created in October 2008. Since January 2015, Alto Minho is also a NUTS3 subregion of ...

Cávado Ave

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropo ...

Douro Tâmega e Sousa

Alto Tâmega The Comunidade Intermunicipal do Alto Tâmega () is an administrative division in northern Portugal. It was created in 2014. Since January 2015, Alto Tâmega is also a NUTS3 Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics or NUTS (french: N ...

Trás-os-Montes , Viana do Castelo, Braga,

, Aveiro (part), Guarda (part), Viseu (part), Vila Real, Bragança , - , style="text-align:left" , Centro Beira Baixa

Beiras e Serra da Estrela The Comunidade Intermunicipal das Beiras e Serra da Estrela () is an administrative division in eastern Portugal. It was created in 2013. Since January 2015, Beiras e Serra da Estrela is also a NUTS3 subregion of Centro Region The Central Region ...

Médio Tejo Oeste Região de Aveiro Região de Coimbra Região de Leiria Viseu Dão Lafões , Castelo Branco, Guarda (majority), Santarém (part),

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits w ...

(part), Aveiro (majority),

Coimbra Coimbra (, also , , or ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2011 census was 143,397, in an area of . The fourth-largest urban area in Portugal after Lisbon, Porto, and Braga, it is the largest cit ...

Leiria Leiria (; cel-x-proto, ɸlāryo) is a city and municipality in the Central Region of Portugal. It is the 2nd largest city in that same region, with a municipality population of 128,640 (as of 2021) in an area of . It is the seat of its own dist ...

, Viseu (majority) , - , style="text-align:left" , Lisbon Metropolitan Region

(majority),

Setúbal Setúbal (, , ; cel-x-proto, Caetobrix) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population in 2014 was 118,166, occupying an area of . The city itself had 89,303 inhabitants in 2001. It lies within the Lisbon metropolitan area. In the t ...

(part) , - , style="text-align:left" , Alentejo

Alentejo Litoral The Comunidade Intermunicipal do Alentejo Litoral () is an administrative division in Portugal. It was created in May 2009. It is also a NUTS3 subregion of the Alentejo Region.Alentejo Central The Comunidade Intermunicipal do Alentejo Central () is an administrative division in Portugal. It was created in 2009. The seat of the intermunicipal community is Évora, the main city. Other cities are Estremoz, Montemor-o-Novo, Vendas Novas a ...

Alto Alentejo Baixo Alentejo Lezíria do Tejo ,

(part),

Évora Évora ( , ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. It has 53,591 inhabitants (2021), in an area of 1307.08 km2. It is the historic capital of the Alentejo and serves as the seat of the Évora District. Due to its well-preserved old ...

, Portalegre, Beja, Santarém (part),

(part) , - , style="text-align:left" , Algarve

Algarve The Algarve (, , ; from ) is the southernmost NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities ( ''concelhos'' or ''municípios'' in Portuguese). The region has it ...

, Faro , -

Context

Districts

EU Statistical Regions (NUTS II)

See also